A Very Special Birthday Present
by gypsybelleoftheopera
Summary: Years before the Pines twins' adventures in Gravity Falls, they receive a very special birthday present from their Uncle Wirt: a book he wrote about his adventures with his brother Greg, the twins' father, in a land called The Unknown. One-shot. Please r & r.


A dark shadow quietly crept over to the door. He opened it, revealing a bedroom with a sleeping little girl inside. Making his way as quietly as he could, he bent down next to the girl's bed. "Birthday poke!" he shouted as he poked the girl so hard that she jerked awake. When she looked up at the culprit, she let out a small scream of shock. Towering before her was a man in a skull mask wearing a pointy birthday hat. Chuckling, the man removed his mask, showing off his big grin. "You got poked by the birthday skeleton!" The sight of her father's face under the mask caused Mabel to giggle. "Happy birthday sweetie." He leaned forward to kiss her head, before kneeling down so that he was at eye-level with her. "How about we go wake up your brother?" he asked with a mischievous smile. Mabel nodded eagerly and she climbed out of bed while her father put the mask back on.

When they got to Dipper's room, he put his finger to his lips. Mabel, unable to control her smile, put her hands over her mouth so as not to let any noise slip out. They tiptoed into his room, and Mabel watched as their father bent down to poke Dipper. "Birthday poke!" he shouted again. Dipper jerked awake like Mabel, only he let out a scream of terror upon seeing the masked man. "You got poked by the birthday skeleton!" Dipper was so scared that he actually fell out of bed. "Got you pretty good, didn't I son?" his father said upon removing the mask.

"Dad, must you do that every year?"

Suddenly the smile wiped off his face, as he looked up into the distance and became very stern. "Yes, I must," he said as if this were his sacred destiny. He smiled again as he bent over to pick up Dipper and carry him over his shoulder. "Come here birthday boy!" Dipper giggled as his father carried him out of his room and went downstairs, followed by Mabel.

When the three of them reached the bottom of the stairs, the kids' mother greeted them. "Greg, put Dipper down," she demanded.

"Yes dear," he replied complacently as he put him down.

"Come on kids, breakfast is waiting." The four of them made their way into the kitchen. Sitting on the table were two stacks of chocolate chip pancakes that each had a candle in them. "So kids, we have a special surprise for you today," their mother said as they ate away at their pancakes.

"Your Uncle Wirt and Aunt Sara are coming in from out of town to spend a few days with us," Greg chimed in.

The twins' faces lit up. They always loved seeing their Uncle Wirt and Aunt Sara, especially Dipper, who felt like he had a special connection with Uncle Wirt, although he couldn't really explain why.

* * *

><p>A couple hours later the doorbell rang. "I'll get it!" both kids called in unison as they ran to the door. When they opened it, there stood two adults holding luggage and bags, a tall, thin pale man with brown hair, and a woman with black hair and brown skin. "Hi Uncle Wirt! Hi Aunt Sara!" The couple came inside, Wirt bending down to hug his niece and nephew.<p>

"Hey brother," Greg said as he and his wife approached the other couple. There were hugs all around before they all made their way to the living room.

"Hey kids, do you want your birthday present now?" The kids nodded eagerly, with grins that took up most of their faces. Wirt pulled out a package. "Happy birthday."

The twins ripped apart at the wrapping like wild animals. When they saw the content inside, Dipper smiled while Mabel frowned. "A book?" Mabel asked disappointedly.

"Not just any book. Look at the author." They looked on the cover and gasped when they saw their uncle's name.

"You wrote this?" Dipper asked excitedly.

"Sure did," he replied, proud of himself. "How would you like me to read the first chapter to you?"

"Yeah!" both twins shouted at the same time. Wirt sat in the center of the couch while both kids sat on either side of him, resting their heads against him.

Wirt read the title, "'Over the Garden Wall.'" He opened the book. "'Prologue,'" he read. '"Led through the mist by the milk-light of moon, all that was lost is revealed. Our long bygone burdens, mere echoes of the spring, but where have we come, and where shall we end? If dreams can't come true, then why not pretend? Oh how the gentle wind beckons through the leaves as autumn colors fall. Somewhere lost in the clouded annals of history lies a place that few have seen; a mysterious place called The Unknown, where long-forgotten stories are revealed to those who travel through the wood.'

"'Chapter One, The Old Grist Mill. It was a dark, cloudy night as two brothers, Wirt and Greg, wandered through the woods.'"

"Wait, is this a story about you and Dad?" Dipper interrupted.

"Yes it is."

"Is this based on a true story?" Mabel asked excitedly.

Wirt and Greg merely exchanged looks, smiling coyly at each other. Without a reply, Wirt resumed reading. "'Greg, the younger brother at the age of six, carried his newly-found pet frog around with him. "…Guggenheim, Albert Salami, Giggly Jumpy Tom, Thomas Tambourine, Leg-Face McCullen, Artichoke, Penguin Pete Steve, but I think the very worst name for this frog is…"

"'"Wait, wait a second," the older brother, fourteen-year-old Wirt interrupted, placing his hand on Greg's face. "Uh, Greg?" Wirt looked around at the darkness and the animals watching them, fear beginning to take over. "Where are we?"'"

Wirt continued reading the chapter. The twins were invested in his story about how the two brothers came across a woodsman who provided them shelter in an abandoned mill, and were attacked by an evil wolf-creature who liked candy, which really turned out to be a dog that had swallowed a turtle that turned him evil.

"'"Wirt, I think I thought of a name for our new frog. I'm going to call him Wirt."

"That's going to be really confusing."

"No, I'm going to call you Kitty."

"What? Maybe I'll start calling you Candy-Pants."

"Whoa, yeah!" The frog replied as well. "Good one Wirt."

"Thanks."

"I'm not talking to you, I'm talking to Wirt."'"

Wirt closed the book. "And that's it for chapter one."

"What? Oh come on!" The twins cried out.

"Can't you read more? Please?" Dipper asked.

Wirt chuckled. "At this rate I might as well just read you the whole book."

"Will you?" Mabel begged.

"Oh alright, I can't say no to you two, especially today."

"Yay!" The twins resumed their positions and continued to listen to their uncle tell more stories about the twins. He read about how the two brothers came across a talking bluebird named Beatrice who would help them go to a woman named Adelaide who would help them get home. Upon the way they came across a town that consisted of pumpkin people, who were really just skeletons wearing costumes, a school for animals, a tavern with people who liked to sing, an old man who thought he was in love with a ghost, but was really a woman who lived in the adjoining mansion, and a steamboat of frogs, finding out that Greg's pet frog was a talented singer. Upon arriving to Adelaide's, the brothers find out that Beatrice lied in that she was really a witch who was going to turn her back into a human for bringing the brothers as bait. The brothers then escaped, finding shelter in a cabin that consisted of a girl and her "aunt," except that this girl was possessed by an evil spirit who devoured the souls of children. Upon rescuing the girl from her curse, the brothers get lost on the way and fall asleep by a tree. When Wirt wakes up, he sees that Greg is gone. With the help of Beatrice and her family, he finds Greg making a deal with the terrible beast, who lived off the souls of those who were lost. Wirt saves Greg, and they end up making it out of the woods. Later it was revealed that all this happened on a Halloween night, and that Wirt and Greg had followed Sara, Wirt's crush, to a cemetery where she was hanging out with her friends. In terror, Wirt and Greg climbed over the wall, landed on train tracks on the other side as a train approached, and tumbled into a pond that had transported them into The Unknown. When they awoke, they were in the hospital, and Greg told Wirt's friends about their adventure while Wirt and Sara's friendship blossomed, all the while all the other characters in the story got their happy endings.

"'And so the story is complete, and everyone is satisfied with the ending, and so on and so forth, and yet over the garden wall, how the gentle wind beckons through the leaves as autumn colors fall. Dancing in a swirl of golden memories, the loveliest lies of all.' The end," Wirt concluded as he closed the book. "So what did you guys think?"

"I loved it!" Mabel shouted out.

"Someday I want to go on a magical adventure like that," Dipper said.

"Me too!"

"Although maybe preferably one that doesn't have an evil beast like that."

"Don't worry kids. I'm sure someday you guys will have a magical adventure of your own."


End file.
